Thomas, L. Dale

NASA Technical Reports Server

PRESENTER NOTES:
• This is an 10-min briefing provided to the Space Propulsion 2012 Conference in Bourdeaux, 
France. This is primarily an international audience
• Thank the organizers and welcome the audience.
• SLS will be America’s new super-heavy-lift human-rated system slated to fly in 2017.
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120014471 2019-08-30T22:06:40+00:00Z
PRESENTER NOTES:
Our strategy for building SLS uses available assets (RS-25, ICPS) as well as hardware in development (five-
segment SRBs, J-2X) to meet our 2017 launch date. Future evolutions of SLS will include advanced boosters 
that will be competed and could use liquid or solid propellants.
The Agency carefully studied options and made decisions based on fulfilling policy and law, combined with 
the optimum approach to support the U.S. aerospace industry’s talented workforce and unique infrastructure.
Maintains U.S. leadership in LOX/LH2 technology
LOX/LH2 Core Stage uses RS-25E engines; LOX/LH2 Upper Stage uses J-2X engine
Establishes fixed central design path, with logical use of existing strength in design and modern 
manufacturing approaches
Harnesses existing knowledge base, skills, infrastructure, workforce, and industrial base for existing 
state-of-the-art systems
Minimizes unique configurations during vehicle development
Evolutionary path to 130 t allows incremental development; thus, progress will be made, even within 
constrained budgets
Allows early flight certification for MPCV
May be configured for MPCV or science payloads, providing flexible/modular design and system for 
varying launch needs
Gains synergy, thus reducing design, development, test, and evaluation (DDT&E) costs and schedule 
by building the Core Stage and Upper Stage in parallel, thereby leveraging common tooling and 
engine-feed components
text version
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PRESENTER NOTES:
• In order to evolve the SLS configuration to its full 130-t potential, we are phasing development 
to stay within our budget and to include innovations offered by large and small businesses and 
academia.
• Affordability goals are being met by starting where we are and making the most of what we 
have, while giving competitive opportunities for advancing SLS performance in a way that 
offers the best return on investment for an initial 70-t capability in 2017 and for block upgrades 
after 2021.
• The 70 t configuration will provide 10 percent more thrust than the Saturn V Moon rocket, and 
the 130 t configuration will provide 20 more thrust.
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PRESENTER NOTES:
Development of the three motors includes an abort motor that pulls the Orion capsule from 
danger, an attitude control motor to provide directional control and the jettison motor that 
separates the system from the crew module.
LAS:
• Enhances crew safety by providing  crew escape capability in the event of pad or ascent 
emergencies
• Includes 3 new solid rocket motors, each successfully fired and operated together as a 
system during the successful Pad Abort 1 flight test
• Expands the envelope of survivable abort conditions over previous abort systems by 
providing active attitude control during aborts.
Marshall Space Flight Center partnering with lead center Langley Research Center to 
provide propulsion oversight
Marshall also supporting thermal analysis, structures, mechanisms, avionics, systems 
engineering, flight test and ground operations
A static ground test and pad abort test were conducted on the LAS. The ground tests included the 
primary motors and attitude control thrusters.
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PRESENTER NOTES:
The 70 metric ton version of the SLS will use ATK’s five-segment solid rocket boosters, which were 
originally designed for the Ares launch vehicles. The five-segment SRB has now undergone three 
full-duration static tests, the most recent being September 8. A flight qualification static test is 
scheduled for spring 2013.
In Sep 2011, a full-scale static firing test was successfully conducted for Development Motor 3, the 
largest and most powerful solid rocket motor ever designed. This five-segment solid rocket motor is 
designed to produce up to 3.6 million lb of thrust at liftoff, about 30 percent more power than its 
four-segment predecessor.
This is highly visible evidence of forward progress.
It also means that our development curve is flatter because we are taking advantage of development 
work done to date.
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PRESENTER NOTES:
One of the reasons we have confidence in our path forward is that we are using proven hardware and 
available assets.
SLS has received 17 Space Shuttle Main Engines (15 flight engines, 2 development engines), which 
will be used to power the core stage. 
A future versions of the RS-25, the RS-25E, could be designed to be expendable, unlike the reusable 
SSME, reducing future costs
High Performance System
• 492K lbs nominal thrust
• 453 sec Isp (avg. flight derived)
Operational Capability
• ~ 67% to 109% throttle range
Physical Characteristics
• Weight: 7,750 lbs
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• Size: 96” D X 168” L
Mature Design, Manufacturing and Operational Knowledge Base
• >1,200,000 sec hot-fire time
Catastrophic Failure Risk 
• 1/1956 starts
Human Rated per Shuttle Program Requirements
Significant U.S. Investment in SSME  capabilities
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PRESENTER NOTES:
Currently, we are getting ready for the SLS system requirements and system definition review.
• In 2017, we will be on the launch pad and this will be our first mission. Exploration Mission 1 is 
slated for 2017 and EM 2 for 2021.
• In 2021, we plan to fly EM-2 on a similar mission with a crew aboard Orion.
• Exploration Missions (EM) 1 & 2 on the Block 1 SLS uses the iCPS, sometimes called 
“kick stage”
• iCPS is intended to be an existing stage with minor modifications  
• iCPS does not have the full capability of the CPS
• SLS has issued an announcement for sources to meet the iCPS requirement
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ICPS provides flexibility for exploration capabilities to multiple destinations beyond Earth orbit
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PRESENTER NOTES:
The SLS plan calls for a series of block upgrades.
SLS Block 2 includes the SLS upper stage, powered by the  J-2X engine
SLS upper stage is a large, high thrust stage required to increase the SLS capability to 130 t 
to LEO
For affordability, initial design work is funded for the Upper Stage to ensure commonality 
with the Core Stage
Due to funding, full-scale development of the Upper Stage is not currently planned in the 
SLS  near-term budget
However, testing of the J-2X development engines is continuing at Stennis Space Center
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BART: ADD J-2X TESTING SLIDE WITH NOTES FROM LATEST ALL-HANDS 
MEETING. ADD A J-2X TEST SHOT AND AN RS-25 MOVING SHOT. ADD YOUR 
SLS BENEFITS FROM EFT-1 TO TALKING POINTS.
PRESENTER NOTES:
SPIO: Signed bilateral exchange agreement (BEA) to provide an MPCV stage adapter (MSA) to be 
used during Orion’s Exploration Test Flight 1 in 2014. Now preparing to begin fabricating the MSA
in-house.
Boosters: Conducted Flight Control Test 1 for avionics at ATK on March 28 and a subscale solid 
rocket motor (SRM) test to evaluate nozzle liner insulation material at Marshall on March 14.
Core Stage: We have 15 RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) ready to go and 2 additional 
test engines. Each RS-25 is capable of producing nearly 400,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff. They are 
engineered to burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, creating exhaust composed primarily of water 
vapor.
Upper Stage: On Feb 15, the J-2X upper stage engine Powerpack Assembly-1 (PPA-1) test was 
successfully completed at the Stennis Space Center (SSC). This was the first of a 10-test series that 
will take place on the A1 test stand.  Data evaluation has been completed and all test objectives were 
achieved. The first J-2X nozzle extension is being shipped to SSC after completing emissivity 
coating application for testing in the A-2 test stand.
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PRESENTER NOTES:
• Please visit our website for SLS news, images, and animation.
• Thank audience for their attention and open the floor for questions.


Space Launch Systems (SLS) for Human and Scientific Exploration Beyond Earth Orbit

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